ethnic minorities

This article explores the neglected issue of the over-representation in the child protection system of children from ethnic, cultural, religious, racial, and linguistic minorities. It focuses on the accommodation of children’s diverse backgrounds within the s31(2) threshold and s1 “best interests” stages of intervention under the Children Act 1989. Firstly, it introduces the ethnic child protection penalty as a new tool for capturing the complex nature of over-representation of these children. Secondly, it proposes a framework for understanding the judicial approach in higher court decisions on the current extent and nature of accommodation. Thirdly, it employs the penalty concept to help explain why case law analysis reveals difficulties with the current factor-based approach, whereas empirical research suggests generally satisfactory accommodation in practice. It concludes by proposing a contextualised framework for decision-making in relation to child protection.

The paper is published in (2014) 63 Studies in Law, Politics, and Society 43-87, and available here.

Questions and Comments Welcome!

This site is intended as a resource for students studying Family Law and Children’s Law, so please feel free to send me questions or comments about issues covered in my podcasts, handouts, and research papers.

You can reach me by adding a ‘comment’ to the relevant post; e-mailing contact@academicfamilylaw.com; or tweeting @academic_lawyer

Sadly, I cannot provide any legal advice; this is an academic resource only.